Evidence Week - Sense About Science

http://senseaboutscience.org/activities/evidence-week-programme/

Am I right in thinking that Sense About Science, in the UK, are blind to the flaws of the PACE trial?

 

I think you are. The American Sense About Science took a different view, if I'm remembering correctly. The UK SAS were pro PACE.

 

Maybe Evidence Week should also have a theme of "Evidence Weak" to highlight PACE and its ilk.

 

Anyone live nearby and fancy raising PACE concerns in front of some MPs?

 

Yep, see https://johnthejack.com/2016/10/17/sense-about-science-the-pace-trial-and-me/

Sense about Science UK grew out of the ex-Living Marxism lot with a nice track record of climate change 'skepticism' and strong, sometimes familial, links to the SMC, Institute of Ideas, Frank Furedi etc etc. There's a real 'old boys' network' there involving that strange and influential group of former revolutionary communists turned libertarians, sometimes described as "media-friendly Tory extremists." Some serious questions to be asked about SAS' funding, too.

It's a quagmire of interconnections and interest groups with a whiff of something noxious about it. This page gives a glimpst: https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/archive/2009/10732-george-monbiot-article-about-sense-about-science

 

David and I will be in town that week. But it looks as if it would be quite hard for members of the public to get involved (it seems you have to ask your MP to take you). Moreover, this looks like an orgy of lowest common denominator propaganda. I doubt there would be any point in going along and saying they are the problem rather than the solution.

 

I believe Simon Wessely previously served on the SAS advisory board. He was awarded the John Maddox Prize in 2012..

".. for his ambition and courage in the field of ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) and Gulf War syndrome, and the way he has dealt bravely with intimidation and harassment when speaking about his work and that of colleagues."

http://senseaboutscience.org/activities/2012-john-maddox-prize/

 

Lynda Ware, from Cochrane is doing a talk: Mon 25 June
"Making informed decisions about health care 3-4pm, Room S, Portcullis House, Cochrane Fellow Dr Lynda Ware is speaking about using research evidence to help make informed decisions about health care including systematic reviews – the backbone of Cochrane’s work. She will look behind some newspaper headlines and point to where reliable evidence-based medical advice may be found. Please RSVP to Katie.abbotts@cochrane.nhs.uk"

http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/author/lynda-ware/

Her blog about a talk on EBM to lay people. She is described as a retired GP, so quite possibly from the same era as Wesseley and Co.

http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/evidence-based-medicine-spreading-word/

 

With people like this talking I doubt there is any point in going near this. The woman is mostly interested in Women's Institute teas and I cannot see anything to be gained by pointing out to her that Cochrane is an unaccountable collection of amateurs.

 

Might it be worth pointing out so that others in the room hear?

 

I think not. Intelligent people, if there are any there, will see this lady is a clot so not need for me to say anything. Unintelligent people will consider any intervention criticising the nice lady as vexatious. And the person sitting next to them will roll their eyes and whisper - Oh it's that ME lot, they are always trouble.

 

Might be worth going for the WI-quality cake then, and the free calendar.